And
so after my meeting with the Councilors I went free. Or almost free
they did give me a minder whatever they chose to call her...

I
drove carefully aware that Lacey sat in the back without a seatbelt.
I felt her amusement. We can't die that way her thought came
to me.

How
do you know? What does it take to kill one of us? I knew that was
a question I needed to answer. , if not now then in the future. I
glanced at her in the rear view and she stuck her tongue out at me. I
grinned and turned onto the road that led to my studio.

It
was in an area that had many warehouses. My studio was actually
located in half of one of the smaller warehouses. At one time I had
rented it, but the owner had come into hard times when I had some
extra money. I had been able to buy it for an affordable price. I
rented out the other half to a friend of mine.

Soon
I came up to the back. It had one of those large automatic doors,
large enough to bring a truck through. That was another feature I
liked. There was a road of sorts that ran through the center of the
building. It made it easier to load my car or the odd truck I rented
when it was a sculpture I was moving. I leaned out the opened window
and punched in the code and waited for the door to open. The two
women were silent as I drove in. Lacey had seen this once before and
Jade was too busy looking around in curiosity.

Once
in I stopped again as a man walked up. "Mr. Stone?" he
said.

I
nodded "I have a couple of friends who wanted to see my studio"
I said waiting for him to raise the bar.

He
looked at me in surprise. He was a regular and knew that I never
brought anyone here. Especially women and here I had two in the car
with me. He looked at them covertly as he hit the button to let me
through.

"You'd
think you've never brought anyone here before from his reaction"
Jade commented as she looked around.

"I
haven't," I said as I parked near the door that led to my studio.
It was one of those doors that slid up like a garage. It had a large
open and next to it was a regular sized door. That was the one I used
when I wasn't moving a large piece.

"Why
not?" she asked looking at me again.

"That
damned article" I growled. She looked at me in question while
Lacey fought back a grin. "The top ten bachelors article. Ever
since then I've had to avoid bringing women here. They tended to take
it as an invitation."

"Oh"
she said and Lacey made a slight chocking sound. I glanced at her in
irritation before opening the door and waving them in.

I
reached around Lacey and hit the light switch. Light flooded the
area. I had made sure it was the kind of light bulbs that mimic the
look of daylight. Often I would come and work all night and I needed
decent light to do it. Now that I thought about it things might work
out anyway. I could always work at night again. There was no reason
why I couldn't. The only thing I had to figure out was how to get my
new material. I couldn't even stay awake during the day let alone
stand in the sunlight.

"Lacey?"
I asked.

"Hmm?"
she was looking at one of my sculptures and running her hand down the
side of it.

I
almost lost my train of thought but recalled myself to the moment
"How long is it before we can stay awake during the day?" I
asked.

She
glanced at me in surprise then answered, "Usually when one
approaches a hundred years of age. That's why it's custom to wait
until then to make a child." she flushed at that.

"Why
is that?" I asked curious.

"Because
in the old days it was more dangerous to be a Vampire. It was
considered necessary for a sire to be able to protect their child
during the day if need be."

"I
can understand that. But why haven't they changed that law now that
things are better?" I really wondered about that. Laws needed to
change with the circumstances.

"It
doesn't work that way for the Council" she said softly. "Most
of them are old, older than you can imagine. They are caught in the
past. Bogged down in the traditions. Change would not come easy for
them."

"Sometimes
it's a case of change or die," I said thoughtfully.

"Yes,
but I think some of them would rather die" she finally said.

Hart
glanced over at Alicia and she smiled at him. He smiled back but his
eyes were glazing with the basic materials they had been asked to
read. School; he almost laughed at the thought. He thought he had
left school behind along with his life when he chose the change.

"I
almost expect to go to the chalkboard and write fifty times. I will
not create a child," he whispered to Alicia.

She
chocked back a laugh and Quake looked up from his book. He frowned as
the two of them pretended to be engrossed in their books. He sighed
"Yeah I know yer wanting to be with each other rather than the
reading. But ye got to read this. Hart yer need a punishment of
sorts. I feel for ye but fer the Council to be appeased ye have to
have punishment and this fits yer crime," he said.

"I
know. I'm surprised you would do this for me" he said looking at
his one-time nemesis.

"I've
been where ye are and I chose differently. Sometimes I still wonder
what if? What if I had the courage to buck tradition?" Quake
sighed and glanced up with sorrowful eyes.

Alicia
looked up in curiosity "Who was she?"

"Her
name was Maderna, at least that was what she had been called then,"
he said heavily.

"You
were too young to change her?" Alicia asked.

"No,
but it was forbidden to me. To any of us."

"Why?"
she asked putting her book aside. She leaned forward to listen.

"She
was a queen and married. The council didn't allow nobility to be
turned unless it was in the plan to cement an alliance. There was no
alliance needed there," he said softly caught in the memories.

"Why?"
she asked jarring him from his thoughts.

He
shook his head and waved back to the books both she and Hart had been
neglecting "Never yer mind. Get back to yer reading ye only have
a year to learn this."

She
sighed; his story had been so much more fascinating than this.

Late
in the night after Quake pronounced himself satisfied with the
evenings study Alicia and Hart were able to walk the gardens until it
was time to go to their rooms to sleep for the day. She looked up at
her love as he walked. "We really are lucky aren't we?" she
said softly.

He
looked back at her with a slight smile "Yes, our stories aren't
that uncommon to this existence. And I hate to say it, but things end
badly more often than not. Even when the lovers come together. Time
or eternity can dull the bond. What was strong can crumble and two
lovers can drift away from each other. I have heard many of these
stories, far more than the happy ones" he said sadly.

"That
won't happen to us?" she asked appalled at the thought.

"No.
Not if we don't allow it. He said in a stronger voice.

She
hugged him tightly and he returned it fiercely, they would never
allow it to happen. Their coming together was too precious to allow
it.

Deimetris
sat back in the chair in his study; he closed his eyes and sipped
slowly from his glass of blood. Sometimes he wondered what life would
have been like if he hadn't chosen the path he had taken. When
Fedrian came to him his wife had just died in childbirth and he had
seen no reason to remain in the human realm. He just wanted to
escape.

And
when his legendary cousin came to him he didn't resist him. He had
chosen to follow him and thus had found a new destiny. He was given a
new direction, but sometimes when alone in the early morning when his
charges had left for their days rest. He remembered and mourned for
his lost love. And he ached for her.

And
sometimes he had wondered at what had happened to their son. He had
watched distantly for centuries. Never close enough to see their
daily lives but closely enough to keep track of the bloodlines. It
felt like he kept a piece of her alive this way.

He
laughed slightly at a thought. He wondered what the new Elder would
say if he knew. Deimetris was his forefather. Distant it was true,
but he felt the connection for all that. The man reminded him of her.
Her fire and determination, her loyalty. He had greatly enjoyed
hearing how he had faced down the entire Council in defence of his
love.

Fendrian
was the only one of the Council that knew that fact. He was sure of
that. But Fendrian would never betray his blood. And he thought
perhaps there were those of the Council that would be disturbed at
the thought of a new Clan being connected in this way so soon.

It
was bad enough that it had ties of direct crossblood with Earlian;
but if it were known that the Elder of this new Clan and the Second
of Clan Kiendra were blood relatives it could cause discord. Maybe
some day in the future it would be safe to tell his distant son.
Maybe someday, he could only hope.

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